Nicolette Aubourg

Lyrics

Requiem for the Racehorses (words and music by Nicolette Aubourg ©)

Another racehorse is euthanized
here at the tracks. It’s no surprise—
thousands bred and killed each year,
commodities for the racing industry.

The injured, bleeding, sick and lame
are medicated and raced the same.
The young horses, not fully grown,
tear their flesh and break their bones.

Horses love to run when they’re free to run.
They’re driven by the sun and wind—it’s in their blood.
They’re not driven by a whip, ridden to exhaustion, drugged to mask the pain.
Crashing down before the crowd,
breaking bones as they hit the ground,
euthanized and then replaced—
people say it’s just part of the race.
There’s no requiem for the racehorses.

These are the pawns in a gambler’s game,
locked in stalls for hours a day.
Some earn money but in the end
there’s no home awaiting them.

They’re discarded when they have no use,
sold at auction, scared and confused.
Sent to slaughter, robbed of their grace—
a final betrayal as they’re dragged away.

Horses love to run when they’re free to run.
They’re driven by the sun and wind—it’s in their blood.
They’re not driven by a whip, ridden to exhaustion, drugged to mask the pain.
Crashing down before the crowd,
breaking bones as they hit the ground,
euthanized and then replaced—
People say it’s just part of the race.
There’s no requiem for the racehorses.
No requiem for the racehorses, no requiem.